


Virtual Remains

by DragonSilk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Minor Violence, Reader-Insert, Science Fiction, Thriller, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-02 11:57:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8666548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: Seto Kaiba ran Kaiba Corp. from Gozaburo’s death until Mokuba graduated from college. Once Mokuba showed that he had the maturity and experience needed to run the company, Kaiba stepped down, leaving everything in the hands of his little brother. He then disappeared from the public eye. 
Most people don't know what happened to him after that. They don't know that Seto Kaiba went into a virtual reality and decided to stay there, abandoning the real world. Mokuba kept it quiet and assumed that if he waited long enough, his brother would return.
He can’t wait any longer. Kaiba Corp. now faces a threat from forces that have figured out that Seto Kaiba is no longer around to stop them. Mokuba needs his big brother to return to reality. 
Seto Kaiba / Reader





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This plot has been niggling at me. I had to sit down and start to write it out. It shouldn't be too long at the end of the day, but I always seem to underestimate how long my plots are. 
> 
> As this is something completely new, I'm hoping it will allow me to stretch my wings out as a writer. While I love my older works and fully intend to keep working on them, it sometimes feels like I'm trying to shove my feet into very old shoes that don't quite fit right anymore. 
> 
> First chapters are always more set up than anything of interest, but I hope everyone enjoys this!

Seto Kaiba’s lifeless body reclined in a pod that looked more like a state-of-the-art coffin. His skin was pale and clung to his bones, reminding you of a mummy more than a living human. You couldn’t tell if he was breathing from where you stood. How could he be breathing when he looked like a body at a funeral home?   
  
There were regular beeps from the machine monitoring his vitals, but those beeps were the only indication that his body was more than decomposing flesh and bones. You assumed the tubes leading into his body were giving him nutrients to keep him alive, but between his complexion and the lack of any fat or muscle on his body, the liquid didn’t seem to be doing much for him. As you studied him, you caught a glimpse of a harpoon going into his arm and looked away. That was a hard nope.    
  
“You won’t have to stick any needles in me, will you?” you asked Mokuba, giving him your attention.    
  
He looked at his brother and then back at you. You knew him well enough to know that he was considering what to say. That meant he was deciding between a good lie or a good not-quite truth.    
  
“Mokuba,” you warned. “I already agreed to help you. Don’t insult me.”    
  
“If you’re gone long enough, we’ll need to keep you alive somehow.” He shrugged. “You won’t even know it’s there until you wake up.”    
  
You grumbled but didn’t object. You would prefer not to have your body die, leaving your mind stuck in the virtual reality forever.    
  
You wondered if that had been Seto Kaiba’s goal when he went into the virtual world and refused to return back to reality. You took a step closer to the man. Everyone knew who Seto Kaiba was, but this was your first time seeing him in person. You’d expected something more than this shell.    
  
There was a helmet covering his face, and you wondered what sort of expression he might be making. Would it reflect what was going on with his mind in the virtual reality?   
  
Mokuba moved to stand next to you. “Let me show you around.” He took your arm and led you away from his brother and over to the raised platform on the side of the room.    
  
There was a large computer screen and an oversized keyboard sitting on the platform. Mokuba placed a hand on the keyboard. “This computer controls the virtual reality. We have it connected to our personal backup generators. So even if there’s a power outage, it will keep running.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you for agreeing to go in there.”   
  
You smiled and shook your head. “You already thanked me, Mokuba. Also, you did say you would pay me for this so it isn’t like I’m not getting anything out of the deal.”    
  
Mokuba glanced over at the pod housing his brother. “He won’t look like that in the virtual world,” Mokuba said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked it, and then swiped his finger across the screen. Then he held his phone up to you. He had a picture of his brother sitting at a desk and glaring at the camera. “He’ll look more like this. He might even glare at you like that.” Mokuba pulled his phone back and looked at the screen. “He’ll probably look at you like that, actually.”    
  
“I’m sure he won’t be too hard to find?”    
  
Mokuba stared at the computer. He sighed. “I don’t know if you will be able to find him.” He looked back at you, and you could see that he was struggling over something that he didn’t want to tell you.    
  
“Mokuba.” You reached out and grabbed his arm. “You can’t send me in there unprepared.”   
  
“You’re right.” He pressed his hands to his face, rubbing at his eyes for a moment. “Okay. Let’s get dinner. We can talk, and then, if you’re still willing, I’ll send you into the VR.”    
  
You nodded. “Can we stop by my place before we come back? I know I’ll be leaving my body behind, but I’d like to change into something more comfortable.” You didn’t think that you would want to wake up from your virtual trip in a wrinkled dress suit.    
  
“Do you want to change before we eat?” Mokuba offered as he led you out of the room.    
  
“No.” You shook your head. “No way. I refuse to have to deal with rumors that I’m dating you. At least this way it looks professional.”    
  
Mokuba stopped to lock the doors. “What am I going to do without you? Who will deal with all of my scandals?”    
  
“You’ll stop using Tinder while I’m gone. That’s what you’ll do.”    
  
Mokuba started to laugh.    
  
“I’m not kidding,” you said, glaring at him. Tinder was a sore subject between the two of you. “I don’t want to come back to find out that you’ve gone missing because some girl has you tied up in her basement.”    
  
“Nobody is going to kidnap me.”    
  
You didn’t dignify that statement with a response. Mokuba sounded confident, but you both knew that he had no reason to feel confident about not getting kidnapped. Neither of you spoke as you rode up to the ground floor of Kaiba Corp. The doors to the elevator opened at the ground floor, and the security station made you wonder if there was better security here or at the Kaiba Mansion. Fewer people obtained access to the mansion, so you felt like that would have been a safer place for Seto Kaiba’s body.     
  
“Why is your brother in the Kaiba Corp. basement instead of at home?”    
  
Mokuba’s eyes widened at your question. He looked around, checking to see if anyone could be eavesdropping, but it was close to seven at night and the lobby was abandoned. The security guards were the only other people present. Despite this, he didn’t respond, and you didn’t push, understanding that he would answer when he felt safe. The two of you waved to the security guard on duty at the front desk as you walked out of the building.    
  
He led you over to his car and held open the passenger door for you. You folded yourself into the tiny front seat, letting him close the door once you were seated. He walked around to the driver’s side and slid into the seat next to you. After starting the car, he turned the heater on but didn’t put the car in drive.    
  
He stared at the wheel. “I told you that Seto went into the virtual world on his own. He just disappeared one day, and when I found him, that’s where he was. I can’t move his body. I risk disconnecting it from his mind permanently.”    
  
Mokuba had been nice with his response, but you realized that your question had been stupid. It made it clear how uneducated you were about the virtual reality system. “Are you sure you want me to go in there after him? Wouldn’t it be better to send someone who actually understands how it all works?”    
  
“No.” Mokuba put the car in drive and reversed with barely a glance backward. “It has to be someone I trust.”    
  
You took a deep breath and looked out at the street. The secret of Seto Kaiba was closely guarded. Mokuba may have only recently asked you to go into the virtual world to fetch his brother, but he had told you about his brother a year ago.    
  
You didn’t know how many people knew, but Mokuba assured you that it was on a need-to-know basis only. Mokuba knew. Three of their security guards knew. The small team of nurses who kept Kaiba alive knew.    
  
You knew.    
  
Knowing was an honor, but today, when you saw Kaiba’s body for the first time, you realized that you never understood exactly what Mokuba had trusted you with. You were now realizing that Mokuba had put his brother’s life in your hands.     
  
Seto Kaiba could easily be killed.    
  
Seto Kaiba might have gone into that virtual world wanting to die.    
  
You glanced at Mokuba. He stayed focused on driving. You couldn’t ask him about that. It would be too cruel. He might have suspicions of his own, but you knew it would still hurt to talk about it. Mokuba didn’t talk about his brother much if he could avoid it anyway.    
  
“Why aren’t you going to get him?” You rushed the words out of your mouth, wanting to say them out before you lost your nerve. Everything about Kaiba seemed like a sore subject, but you thought that if anyone had a chance at bringing him home, it would be his brother. Not a complete stranger.    
  
Mokuba’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “He kicked me out last time I visited him.”    
  
“Oh.” You wanted to know what happened, but maybe it was none of your business. You glanced at Mokuba’s face. His jaw clenched as if he were stopping himself from saying more. “That’s… terrible.” Terrible didn’t seem to describe it. Mokuba looked like he might cry.    
  
“He doesn’t…” Mokuba shut his mouth, considering what to say. “I tried to convince him to come back to reality. He said no, and I pushed too hard.” Mokuba took a deep breath.    
  
You hated to ask this, but you needed to know. “If you couldn’t get him to come back… what makes you think I can?”    
  
Mokuba didn’t respond. Instead, he focused on parking his car. After pulling into the spot next to the curb, he turned off the car. He glanced over to the street as if he were looking for oncoming traffic, but he didn’t open his car door. “Honestly? I don’t think you can do it. I don’t think anyone can.” He pushed the door open, throwing himself out of the car and slamming the door shut behind him.    
  
You sat in the car for a moment. Mokuba expected you to fail. He hoped that the dire state of things at Kaiba Corp. might convince his brother to come back, but he didn’t think it would.    
  
The door opened, and you looked up to see Mokuba standing next to the car. “Coming?”    
  
You nodded and stepped out, trying to find your balance.    
  
Over dinner, Mokuba did his best to explain the virtual world to you. He explained that this particular world had been programmed and set up by his brother. It was Domino City, but it wasn’t Domino either. Mokuba told you that the first time he visited, the world had been empty, completely devoid of people. At some point, AIs had been added, but there weren’t very many of them.    
  
Mokuba told you that his brother was easy to find. He stayed at the top of the virtual Kaiba Corp. Mokuba’s only concern was that you might have a hard time making it to the top of the building. Since Kaiba didn’t know you, it was possible that he might not allow you to reach him.    
  
“The only person he would let up there, other than me, isn’t in Japan at the moment,” Mokuba explained when you asked him why there wasn’t anyone better than you. “I just have to send you and hope for the best.”   
  
Your heart sank a little in your chest. Mokuba was placing all his hopes on you, even though he didn’t think that you could do it. You couldn’t bear the thought of letting him down. You knew that his company was at risk. His entire life was in danger of falling to pieces.    
  
He was your best friend, and he was counting on you. You needed to bring his brother home.    
  
So you stayed quiet and focused on his words. You tried to understand how the virtual reality would work. You looked for details that might help you.    
  
You wished that you knew more about computers.    
  
You couldn’t eat much during dinner. Your stomach rolled each time you swallowed food, threatening to reject it. You nibbled on what you could manage and hoped that this wouldn’t come back to bite you.    
  
After dinner, Mokuba took you home so you could change and pack. He recommended avoiding pajamas of any sort as you would probably end up in the virtual world in whatever you were currently wearing. He told you it was possible to control what you ended up wearing, but he didn’t know how to do it.    
  
So you put on clothes that were both comfortable and nice. You didn’t want to face Seto Kaiba looking like a slob. Then you packed a toothbrush at Mokuba’s recommendation.    
  
Once you finished packing your stuff, you double checked to ensure that your doors and windows were locked. After locking the front door, you gave your keys to Mokuba. If you were in the virtual world for too long, he promised he would look after your place.    
  
He took you back to Kaiba Corp, and you spent the entire car ride wishing you had more time to prepare. You knew next to nothing about Seto Kaiba, just whispers and rumors of a man long gone. Rumors that had been blown out of proportion due to how long he’d been away from the public eye.    
  
This was a job that should never have been given to you. Yet Mokuba was trusting you with it, if only because he literally didn’t have anyone else.    
  
The last thing you wanted to do was let him down.    
  
Mokuba locked your stuff up in a locker below the computer, assuring you that he was the only one with keys for this room. Then he helped you into the second pod. The cushion was hard and didn’t seem to sink down at all under your weight. You leaned back, feeling like you were lying down on a table instead of a chair. The two pieces sticking up next to your head made you feel claustrophobic, and you wanted to sit back up before they grabbed onto your face.    
  
“Ready?” Mokuba asked from the computer.    
  
No. Wait! A thought occurred to you. You sat up in a panic, looking over at Mokuba. “How do I get out of the virtual world?”    
  
Mokuba winced. “It’s a long… Don’t worry about it. My brother will send you home even if he doesn’t come with you.”    
  
You hated to ask, but even Mokuba had admitted that you might not be able to find his brother. “What if he isn’t there?”    
  
“He will be, but if you need to get out, email me.”    
  
“Email?” That didn’t make sense. How could you email him from a different world?    
  
“Any virtual computer should act like a real one. Seto sends me emails. You should be able to, too.”    
  
You nodded. It seemed straightforward, but you hoped that you wouldn’t have to resort to emailing Mokuba and hoping he would be able to get you out. Either way, you were determined to bring Seto Kaiba home. You reclined back in the seat. “Okay. I’m ready.” You weren’t, but you knew that you never would be.    
  
“Remember what I told you.”    
  
“Got it.” You focused on breathing. Mokuba mentioned a helmet would come down over your head and cover your face in the same way Kaiba’s face was covered.    
  
“Three,” Mokuba began a countdown. “Two.” You wished he would just do it before your nerves took over. “One.” You breathed in, holding your breath as the machine began to buzz.    
  
The pieces next to your head moved in until you worried that they might crack your head open like a nut. They stopped moving, and you let out the breath that you had been holding. Then, a piece of metal crept down, blocking your view of the room. You kept focusing on breathing in and out, trying to fight the urge to throw yourself out of the chair.    
  
The machine stopped whirring for a moment, and you had just enough time to wonder if it had broken. Then the world lit up an electric blue before everything went black.   
  
You found yourself standing on the sidewalk in the dark. You looked around. The street was empty and devoid of cars. There weren’t any people around.    
  
Were you in a dream?    
  
In the distance, you could see Kaiba Corporation. The building was lit up from the inside, and compared to the dark stores surrounding you, it seemed like a beacon. Mokuba had said his brother could be found at the top.   
  
You took a step forward, expecting it to feel different somehow. It didn’t. Your body moved just like you expected it to move. The smack of your foot landing on the pavement echoed around you as you took another step forward. You paused, looking around and wondering if the noise you were making would get anyone’s attention.    
  
The street stayed empty. So you strode forward, intent on reaching Kaiba Corp and taking the elevator up to the top floor. You tried to keep your steps light the entire way, glad that your body moved the way it did in the real world.    
  
Once you made it to the Kaiba Corp. building, you discovered that the doors were locked. You pulled and pushed both doors before shaking them, hoping that maybe you were trying to open them incorrectly. The doors rattled, sounding like an earthquake in the silence, but they refused to open.    
  
You pounded your fists against the doors, but nobody came to see what was going on. You couldn’t even see anyone inside. The lobby, like the rest of the world, was completely empty.    
  
You peered into the windows next to the door. The lobby looked like the real lobby from the outside. If you were trying to get into the building after hours, how would you go about it?    
  
The answer was simple. You would use your key card. There was even a reader next to the door where you could swipe the card. You checked the pockets of your jeans, but the card wasn’t on you. It was in your bag, locked inside a drawer in Kaiba Corp’s basement.    
  
Hoping that maybe in this virtual reality you could will things into existence, you focused on having your card attached to your pants. It didn’t work. You thought about it while staring at where the card would be if you had it. You looked away and tried to convince yourself the card would be there if you reached down for it. You even tried swiping an imaginary card in the reader. None of your ideas worked.   
  
You pounded your fists against the door again, slamming both fists against it this time, shouting for someone to come open the door.    
  
“That does not appear to be helping you.”    
  
You screamed and turned around, backing yourself against the door. There was a man standing on the sidewalk leading up to the building. He stared at you but didn’t move. You told yourself that you didn’t have any reason to worry about him. This wasn’t real. You weren’t going to get mugged in a virtual world for a wallet that you didn’t even have.    
  
“Hello,” you said. The man acknowledged your greeting with a nod, but otherwise, he didn’t say anything. You took a moment to assess the man staring at you. This man looked nothing like Seto Kaiba. His hair was brown, yes, but that was where any similarities stopped. This man had a beard covering a wide jaw. You didn’t know if Kaiba could grow a beard in this virtual reality, but it seemed unlikely. Even if he could, it wouldn’t change the shape of his chin, and while Kaiba had blue eyes, this man had green eyes that seemed overshadowed by his bushy eyebrows. You swallowed and cleared your throat, standing up straight. “Who are you?”    
  
“You may need to clarify that statement,” he said, grinning at you. “Did you wish to know my name? Or are you seeking my role or job in the world?”     
  
As he smiled at you, your stomach tightened with unease. You understood the words he was speaking, but they didn’t quite make sense. “Both?”    
  
“I am B-A-I-Four-Six of the Barista class.”    
  
You nodded, pretending that had made sense, but he didn’t clarify further. You stared at him in silence, trying to piece together what you could understand. You half-thought that he said he was in school to learn how to make coffee, but you weren’t sure why that would be a thing in the virtual world.    
  
After a moment of silence, he stepped past you and up to the door. “Please step back,” he stated. “You are not allowed to enter.”   
  
“Excuse me?” You didn’t move. If he intended to open that door, you intended to get inside. Allowed or not.    
  
“Please step back,” he repeated. “You are not allowed to enter.”    
  
“I need to get inside.” You put a hand on the door. “I’m here to speak with Mr. Kaiba.”    
  
“Provide me with your name, and I will inform him that you are out here.” The man placed his hands on your shoulders and pushed you backward. “Please step back.” He forced you away from the door while you were too surprised to do anything.    
  
He was able to touch you. You didn’t know why, but you had expected his hands to go through you.    
  
You stared at him as he opened the door. Thoughts of pushing past him left your head as you wondered if you could feel pain in this world. You didn’t want to find out the answer to that.    
  
“Your name, please?” the barista (in training?) requested.     
  
Your name meant nothing to Seto Kaiba. “Mokuba sent me. Tell him that.”    
  
He nodded before entering the building and shutting the door in your face. You stepped up to the door and tried to open in, but it remained locked. So you sat down in front of the door and waited, hoping that you would be allowed entry into the building.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!!! :D
> 
> So... with this story, I'm trying my hand at suspense and action and all these new things I've never really done before. I'm hoping you guys will enjoy it! 
> 
> Meanwhile, I was actually bouncing ideas off my boyfriend's head as I developed Kaiba's virtual reality, and it's actually thanks to him that I was able to construct a complete idea of what Kaiba would do. I hope you guys agree as things unfold... 
> 
> Enjoy~

In the complete silence of the virtual world, you had a hard time finding ways to distract yourself as you waited. You kept thinking about Kaiba’s body in the real world and the needles that were now attached to him. It made you wonder how much time had passed in the real world. If you had to guess, you would say that you had been in the virtual world for maybe an hour at most, but Mokuba said time could be deceptive here. 

Before you could work yourself into a frenzy, a man wearing the distinctive Kaiba Corp. security uniform opened the door. 

“Mokuba sent me?” he asked, looking down at you. 

You jumped up. “Yes! That’s me… well, not my name but…” You let your words taper off as the man stared at you. This was the most awkward encounter that you’d had with anyone in quite some time. The virtual world seemed to be throwing you off your game. 

The guard studied you, perhaps assessing if you were a threat? “You have been granted permission to enter.” He stepped back and out of the way, holding the door open for you. 

You entered the lobby and looked around. It looked just like the Kaiba Corp. lobby that you walked through every day. The only difference was that this lobby was devoid of people. 

“Follow me,” the guard instructed before walking toward the elevators. 

You did as he asked, remembering the day that you’d interviewed at Kaiba Corp. for your current job. A security guard had escorted you up to your interview that day. 

On that day, you had been meeting with Mokuba Kaiba rather than Seto Kaiba, and Mokuba Kaiba had seemed like the most intimidating person you would ever meet. At the time, he was the young CEO of an empire, stepping into his brother’s shoes with confidence. Confidence that you would later learn was 100% fake. 

Seto Kaiba seemed even scarier now, but that could be because there wasn’t anyone around to hear you scream. 

You eyed the guard as the elevator ascended. He stared straight ahead like a statue. His lack of attention made you relax a little. You looked at the numbers above the door as they counted up and took advantage of the silence to center yourself. This entire experience had thrown you off balance. You didn’t know what you expected a virtual world to look like, but it wasn’t this empty version of Domino. 

This seemed like a world that had been destroyed in some way. A world with very few survivors. Survivors who were no longer entirely human. You prided yourself on being able to read people to a point where they sometimes wondered if you could read minds, but these artificial people were impossible for you to understand. Would spending so much time with them have an effect on Kaiba in some way? 

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. The security guard walked out of the elevator and then stepped aside. He gestured for you to go ahead. You exited the elevator and looked around at the empty waiting room. 

For the entire time that you had been working at Kaiba Corp, the top floor had been forbidden. It was Seto Kaiba’s floor, and Mokuba refused to move up to it. So you couldn’t help but feel curiosity about your surroundings. 

“He’s waiting for you.” 

The guard’s words reminded you why you were here. You glanced at the empty desk before moving past it and over to the double doors. As you placed your hand on the door knob, you waited for someone to yell at you to stop. People couldn’t just walk on into Mokuba Kaiba’s office, and you wouldn’t expect any different from Seto Kaiba’s. 

Nobody said a word. So you turned the handle, pushing the door open. 

_ Woah _ . You hovered in the doorway, caught off guard by the sight of Seto Kaiba. 

Then you stepped into the room, maintaining eye-contact with the man sitting behind the desk. He stared at you without any shame or self-consciousness. His upright posture conveyed that you were in his territory now, and his expression told you that you’d better have a good reason for bothering him. 

You told yourself that you could do this. “Mr. Kaiba?” 

He raised an eyebrow. “Do I know you?” 

Right. Introductions first. You introduced yourself to Kaiba, walking over to the desk. “I started working for the company shortly after you… left.” Normally you would hold out your hand for a handshake, but you had a feeling Kaiba would ignore it. 

He stayed silent. His eyes roved over you, assessing you in some way. He scoffed as if he found you lacking. You lifted your chin and rolled your shoulders back, standing straight. He didn’t know you. “ _ Mokuba  _ sent _ me  _ to ask you to come back.” You let your stare sharpen into a challenge. Mokuba knew you, and he didn’t find you wanting. Kaiba should trust his opinion. 

“Why should I trust anything you say?” He stood, forcing you to look up at him. “How do I know Mokuba sent you at all?” 

His height put you at a disadvantage, but you refused to let him unnerve you. “Mokuba says, ‘Remember the locket.’ I assume you’re supposed to know what that means.” 

He frowned. “Fine. Why did Mokuba send you?” 

You froze your expression before you could give yourself away. Kaiba should have given you a return phrase, according to Mokuba at least. “He wants you to come back. He needs your help with an issue at Kaiba Corp.” Maybe Kaiba didn’t feel like you deserved the return phrase? He seemed arrogant enough to assume it wouldn’t be necessary. 

“I’m sure Mokuba is capable of handling it on his own.” 

You didn’t know Kaiba well enough to read him. He seemed to be studying you, but that didn’t mean anything. He could just be giving you his full attention. Mokuba had been right about his brother hiding his feelings better. 

“This isn’t a normal situation. He said it’s like the Big Five all over again only worse.” You didn’t know what Mokuba meant by that, but you didn’t intend to give that away to Kaiba. 

“If the situation is that dire, I don’t understand why Mokuba wouldn’t come in here himself.” 

You wanted to throw your hands in the air. Despite your job, you never had much patience for men who refused to do something just because it wasn’t their idea. Still, for Mokuba, you would put everything you had into goading Kaiba back into the real world. “That sounds like an excuse. Look, if you want to stay here, refusing to face the world, unable to help your little brother, just say so. Don’t give me flimsy excuses. I have better things to do than waste time with you.” You took a deep breath. Kaiba had opened his mouth during your rant so you’d kept going without giving him a moment to interrupt.  

“Fine,” he snapped. “However, some of the parameters in the pod will need to be adjusted before I can return to my body.” 

“The parameters?” What was he talking about? 

“Yes.” His frown deepened as he made a sound of disgust. “Surely you can handle making changes that I dictate to you?” 

“I think… you may have misunderstood who I am?” He seemed to assume you were a programmer. Or whoever did the parameters. Whatever those were. “I’m just a messenger.”

He sat down and turned to his computer. “What a waste of time! Mokuba should have just sent an email.” He glanced back at you. “You’re useless. Go back. Tell Mokuba to send me someone who can actually understand.” 

You hesitated, wishing you knew what was going on. “You can’t come back with me?” 

“No, and it would be a waste of time trying to explain it to you.” He lifted his hand and waved it once toward the door. 

“Mokuba said you would be able to send me home.” You would ask Mokuba to clarify how he was related to Kaiba. He’d mentioned something about an adoption in passing, maybe they weren’t related by blood. 

You had his attention again, but now he looked disgusted. “Take the elevator down to the basement. Get in a pod and press the button.” 

You had questions but decided to just go down to the basement and figure it out on your own. If you couldn’t, Mokuba had said that you could email him for help. Kaiba had gone back to his computer, so you skipped the farewells and left his office. 

“Tell Mokuba to look at my email!” he called after you. 

You ignored him. You felt bad for hoping he wouldn’t ever come back to reality, but you didn’t want to deal with him ever again. You’d have to look for a new job if he became your boss.  

Nobody waited by the elevator for you, and when it opened, it was empty. You stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lower level. The elevator started its slide down, and you watched the floors count by, waiting for the elevator to stop somewhere on the way, but the numbers kept counting without pause. 

Then it shook slightly as it stopped and settled in place at the lower levels. You waited for the doors to slide open. They didn’t move. You stepped forward and pressed the door open button on the panel. 

The lights turned off. You couldn’t stop the shriek that burst out of your mouth as you slammed your palm onto the buttons. You slapped at them, trying to get the elevator to do something, anything at all. 

Then you jumped back against the wall as a panel in the roof slid back with a thump. Feet appeared in the opening before a man fell down to the floor. He stood, and you recognized Kaiba. How was he here? 

He studied you from top to bottom, disdain apparent on his face. “Who are you?”

You might have stepped back from him, but you didn’t have anywhere to go. You gave him your name, slowly dragging out the syllables. Had he gone crazy in this world? 

“What are you doing here? I don’t know you.” 

His demands were much harder to process when he was close like this. He had you trapped, and you were aware of the way his height allowed him to loom over you. “We just spoke upstairs?” You glanced over at the doors. They were still shut. Could he kill you here? Should you have asked Mokuba if you could be hurt in the virtual world? Something wasn’t right in his head if he didn’t remember you. 

His fist slammed into the wall next to your head, pulling your attention back to him. His eyes narrowed. “Why. Are. You. Here?” 

In the dark elevator, it was hard to make out the color of his eyes. They almost looked grey, but upstairs they had been a deep blue. “Mokuba sent me.” Mokuba had deep purple eyes. Another sign that he might not really be related to Kaiba. “He wants you to come home?” How could he have forgotten the conversation? If he were this unhinged, he might not be any help to Mokuba at all. 

“Mokuba has wanted me to come back from the moment I left.” He scoffed as if his brother’s wants were nothing. 

Horrified, you studied Kaiba’s face and realized that he was waiting for something from you. He wanted you to come to Mokuba’s defense. “Mokuba said it’s worse than the Big Five?” 

Kaiba pulled his hand away from the wall and stepped back. He maintained eye contact with you, allowing you to watch as his face changed from interest to a blank slate. You wondered how significant that comment could be if Kaiba had forgotten it, but it still seemed to mean something to him. 

“It is worse but manageable. Tell Mokuba I’m more help to him in here.” He looked up, taking a few more steps back until he was pressed against the opposite wall of the elevator. Then he jumped forward and up, grabbing onto the opening in the ceiling. He pulled himself up, and you watched his body disappear into darkness. 

He didn’t seem to expect you to follow, but that hole looked like your only way out of the elevator. “Wait!” You jumped up, trying to grab for the edge and missing. You stumbled as you landed back on the ground. “Mr. Kaiba?” You stood on your toes, but your fingers didn’t even come close to being able to touch the ceiling. You waited, expecting Kaiba’s hand to reach down for you, but the elevator stayed silent. Taking a deep breath, you backed up to the wall and tried to do a running leap like Kaiba’s. 

There wasn’t enough room for a good build-up, and you almost fell face-first into the opposing wall. 

Taking stock of your situation, you couldn’t remember if you’d tried to pry the doors open yet or not. Kaiba wasn’t coming back for you, and you needed to get out of this elevator somehow. You ran a hand over the crack between two doors, but the doors were pressed firmly together, and you couldn’t dig your fingers in between them. You pressed down on one of the doors with your hand, trying to push it back, just a bit, just enough for you to get your hand between the crack. 

Nothing budged. 

Then you heard something whirring. As you looked around, trying to figure out where that sound was coming from, the lights flickered back on. The doors flew open to reveal a hallway. 

You hesitated for a moment too long, and the doors began to shut. You jumped forward, throwing yourself between the doors and out into the hallway. The doors slid back to an open position, but it didn’t matter. You’d gotten out of the elevator. 

The lower levels here looked just like what you remembered from the real world. The hallway lacked decoration, very few people came down here, and all of the doors had keycard readers next to them. For the most part, there wasn’t anything interesting down here. Old computers that had yet to be wiped clean of data or filing cabinets full of paperwork from a decade ago.

But Kaiba’s body was stored down here, too. 

You walked straight for the door to the virtual reality pods. Your hand hesitated over the handle of the door. It should be locked, but what would you do if it were? It needed to be unlocked. 

The handle twisted just a bit before you felt some resistance. You bit your lip, but the handle had already clicked past the moment of resistance, and the door popped open. The room looked exactly the same, but now both pods were empty. 

Get in the pod and press the button. Those had been Kaiba’s instructions. Could he be trusted? Did he know what he was talking about? Did you have a choice? 

You ignored the pods and walked over to the computer Mokuba used to send you here. The keyboard wasn’t any smaller than it had been in the real world, and the monitor intimidated you, but you told yourself it was just a computer and looked for a button with a power symbol. A scan below the table didn’t locate anything helpful so you began looking at the keyboard. It had more keys than a standard keyboard, and you weren’t sure what most of the symbols meant, so you scanned it multiple times just to be sure you weren’t missing something. 

Then you tapped a key, wondering if the computer might just be asleep. Nothing happened. 

Reaching forward, you ran a hand around the edges of the screen. There were buttons on the side. You pressed them, one at a time, working your way down. 

The screen and keyboard lit up, showing the Kaiba Corporation icon. You reminded yourself that the computer might not be connected to the server. You might not be able to email Mokuba. Don’t count your chickens just yet. 

The login screen came up. You entered your username and password. It accepted your entry before your personal background took up the screen. You clicked on the icon for your email. The computer ignored you and nothing happened. Of course you probably needed to give it a moment to boot up fully, but it was a computer within a computer and how much time did it need really? You clicked on the icon again. 

Then four windows popped up at once, none of them showing you more than a blank screen. You closed three of the windows, holding yourself back from trying to do more. Mokuba always told you to let things load. There wasn’t any way to rush it. The Kaiba computers were fast, but they didn’t do everything in an instant. 

Then your emails began to load. You had quite a few unread emails, and you clicked on one before you could stop yourself. Then you closed it. If you got carried away with doing work, you might be here for days. You looked at the time stamp from the most recent email. Luckily, it had only been hours since you’d left the real world. Quite a few hours, but you shouldn’t come back to any needles in your arm. 

Opening a new email, you marked it as important before addressing it to Mokuba. For the title, you wrote, “HELP!” He should see it immediately on his phone. 

Then you considered how much you should tell him in the email. You decided to keep it short. You could explain everything once you were back in the real world. 

The door to the room opened, and you looked up to see two guards entering the room. 

“Step back from the computer please.” 

You tapped send before stepping back, and the guard shouted at you to, “Stop interacting with the computer!”

“I’m sorry. Can I help you?” You kept backing up until you were against a wall. 

The guards grabbed you by the arms, pulling you down from the area with the computer, and you realized that Kaiba was standing by the door. “They won’t hurt you as long as you don’t try to get away,” he said as he walked right past you and up to the computer.

“What are you doing?” You tried to turn and look back, but one of the guards pressed you face-first into the wall. He held the back of your head, keeping your face pressed down, as your arms were pulled tight behind your back. You tried to tell yourself that this wasn’t real, but the press of a cold wall against your body felt dangerous. 

You closed your eyes as one was forced against the wall, and you wondered what would happen to your body if they cracked your head open in this virtual world? 

You tried to move your head away from the wall or turn it to relieve the pressure on your eye, but the guard just pushed your head harder into the wall. You cried out in pain, trying to pull your hands free, and a shoulder pressed into your spine, applying weight against your body. You squirmed, but your body just kept getting pressed harder against the wall. Your eye felt like it might pop, and your spine seemed to want to crack in two as your shoulders were forced back by your arms. You shouted, but you couldn’t say if you shouted at them to stop or if you were simply crying in pain. 

Then your bones popped back in place as you were pulled from the wall and pushed to the floor. Your arms didn’t respond to your brain, and your head hit the floor with a smack. The pain rippled through your mind. You rolled over onto your back, bringing your hand up to the side of your head. The pain faded into the background, but your temple throbbed against your hand and small, white spots flooded your vision. 

Kaiba appeared in your view. “Your login doesn’t have access to anything!” He pulled you up by the front of your shirt. “What do you even do in my company?” 

“Ow.” Your head spun. “Public image mostly. I don’t need clearance for much.” You couldn’t grasp why this conversation was happening. Kaiba had his own login, didn’t he? 

“What do you do when you need access to more information?” he demanded.

“I don’t usually.” You shrugged, and the feeling caused a new wave of pain to course through your body. You grit your teeth to stop yourself from making any more noises. “Mokuba often gives me his password so I can always use his login if I really need to.” 

You landed on your knees as Kaiba released your shirt. He looked down at you. “Log into Mokuba’s account,” he ordered. 

You froze. There was no way you would do that. Not even for Mokuba’s brother. If Mokuba wanted him to have his password, he could just give it to him. 

Then you looked back at the guards. They were standing by the door, their faces expressionless as they waited. Did you have much of a choice? You stood up, trying to remember if there had been another door in the room. A quick glance didn’t reveal anything helpful. 

Kaiba stayed next to you as you walked over to the computer, his hand on your back as if he were comforting you. 

“Complete shut down. Code 72. Cosmic Flare.” 

Kaiba’s voice rang out loud and clear, enunciating each syllable. You looked back, confused at the words, but his face didn’t give anything away. He continued to glare forward. You stepped away from him, but he didn’t follow you. His hand hovered in air. 

“MOVE!” You jumped, looking for the source of that voice. It sounded like Kaiba, but he was frozen. “GET OUT OF THERE!” 

He didn’t have to tell you twice. You ran for the door, ready for the guards to grab you, but they were frozen in place as well and didn’t even flinch as you pushed your way between them. 

You made it down the hallway and to the elevator before you heard Kaiba shouting that someone needed to catch you. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!
> 
> Omg, but I hope you guys continue to enjoy this wild ride? :) Maybe?
> 
> I hope Kaiba doesn't seem OOC at all! He's been in the virtual world for a while so he's not exactly the same man, but he should still read as Kaiba!

You pressed the up button for the elevator over and over, praying for it to open. An arm wrapped around you, pulling you away from the elevator, and you screamed in surprise. A hand pressed into your mouth, smothering your shouts and gripping your jaw. Your teeth slammed together as your mouth was pushed shut. 

Then you were shoved into a room. You spun to face your captor, and you caught a glimpse of Kaiba as the door shut, throwing the room into darkness. 

“Don’t. Speak.” The warning in Kaiba’s voice was clear, and you understood that this Kaiba couldn’t be the other Kaiba. 

As you stared at Kaiba’s shape in the dark, you tried to figure out what was going on. This Kaiba had grabbed you and pulled you into a hiding spot. The other Kaiba had ordered the guards to capture you. 

Were there two Kaibas? More than two? Maybe he had some sort of multiple personality disorder? Mokuba hadn’t warned you about anything like that, but it could have developed due to time spent in the virtual world… At least, you assumed being in an empty world like this could cause something like that to develop. You weren’t a psychologist despite your propensity to analyze people, so to be fair, you didn’t really know what was possible.  

You felt unprepared and incompetent. The unease of not knowing if you could trust yourself twisted your gut and muddled your thoughts. If there were multiple Kaibas, were they all real? Were any of them real? Could you even tell if they weren’t? 

“Mokuba shouldn’t have sent you.” 

His accusation brought you back to the present. “I don’t understand. Why would you need...are there... multiple...of you?” You couldn’t even form a question properly. If Kaiba didn’t believe that you were a huge idiot, you would be shocked. You felt like one. 

“I doubt you could understand an explanation.” He didn’t hide the disgust from his face as he looked you over. “You’re a liability to me here. Do exactly what I say and shut up.” 

Everything he said offended you, but at the same time, you wondered if it might be true. Whatever this situation was, it seemed like too much for you. So you stayed quiet and watched as he pried a vent off the wall. 

He gestured to the opening. “Get in.” 

You leaned down and hesitated. The opening reminded you of a closed slide. Beyond the entrance, the vent didn’t widen, and once you were in there, you didn’t think you would be able to turn around. What if you got stuck?

Kaiba pushed you forward, shoving your body toward the wall. “Now,” he hissed. 

You took a deep breath and crawled into the vent. You were forced to keep your head low to avoid hitting the top, and your shoulders brushed against the sides as you crawled forward. 

Kaiba shoved you forward, and you didn’t know if you were more annoyed by his hand on your ass or by how much it hurt to knock your head against the walls of this metal death trap. 

The vent rattled a little as Kaiba joined you, continuing to shove you forward. “Stop that!” you hissed, wishing you could glare at him. You shuffled forward as quickly as possible, not wanting him to continue to push you. 

As you moved through the small tunnel, you wondered if it would be possible to suffocate in a virtual world. You became aware of the fact that you were still going through the motions of breathing in and out. Could you stop breathing? 

You didn’t want to try. 

Kaiba’s hand on your ass let you know that you still weren’t moving quickly enough, and you focused on shuffling forward. The dark didn’t seem to end, and the tube seemed to narrow. Your back began to stiffen and little bursts of pain shot down your spine. You wanted to stretch out your body more than anything, but Kaiba continued to push you forward. 

The tube continued on. You crawled forward in the darkness, waiting for some sort of light or something that would indicate the end would be near. Did the air seem stale? 

Then your head bumped into a wall. “Oww,” you whined, tilting your head down.

“Quiet!” Kaiba’s hand slid up to your back, and you froze. Then his hand began to push down on your back, pushing your body down. You could hear some banging as he moved around, and for a moment, you panicked, wondering why he was getting so close. 

“There’s no space,” he grumbled, and you no longer felt him touching you. 

Your heart beat against your chest, and you wondered if it was beating just as hard in the real world. 

“Reach up,” Kaiba ordered. “There’s a vent that you should be able to push aside. Then get out.” 

You did as he said, struggling with the weight of the vent. As it slid open, light shone down, and you squinted against it. You pushed the vent up with all of your strength, but as it moved up, something fell with a crash, and you recoiled back into the vent. 

“Get out, you clutz!” Kaiba shoved you up, forcing you through the opening. The edge scratched your shoulder, reminding you that you could get hurt in this world, and you scrambled to get up on your own. 

You stood, stepping away from the vent opening as Kaiba emerged, and looked around at the room, trying to get your bearings. You took a deep breath and reached up with your hands, stretching out your arms and back.  

As you looked around, the word ‘bunker’ crossed your mind. If the bed were any indication, this room was where Kaiba slept. There weren’t any windows, but Kaiba had multiple computer screens set up, and they seemed to be showing footage of the empty building. 

The room didn’t have a door. 

You watched Kaiba slide the vent shut before he pushed a box over it. Then he stood and his focus shifted over to you. You stayed quiet, studying him and lining up your facts. You were stuck in the virtual world. The man in front of you might be Seto Kaiba, but you couldn’t be sure. You were in danger.

You didn’t know why you were in danger. 

You were in danger, and you were in a fictional world. These two facts were all you knew. 

“You need to log into your Kaiba Corp account and change your password immediately.”

“Excuse me? What?” 

Kaiba didn’t give your brain time to catch up as he shoved you over to his computer. “Don’t waste time with questions!” 

Confusion and doubt stopped you from doing anything more than sit down in front of the laptop he’d shoved you over to. 

“They have your login details! Look!” Kaiba pointed at one of his computer screens. On the screen, another Kaiba sat in front of the computer in the basement. You couldn’t tell what he was doing, but your brain caught up, and you understood why Kaiba wanted you to change your information. 

“But he’s already logged in… what will changing my password do now?” 

You hesitated. What if the Kaiba sitting in the basement with the pods was the real Seto Kaiba? What if the one in front of you was an imposter? 

Then you remembered. “Mokuba said to remember the locket.” You studied Kaiba’s face, and you saw surprise widen his eyes for a brief moment. 

“I have the picture he gave me.” 

Bingo. The return phrase you’d been looking for. You sat back in the chair, relief overwhelming any other emotion. At least you knew this one was real. 

Then he slammed his hand down on the desk. “We don’t have time! Log. In.” 

You jumped into action, your fingers flying across the keyboard as you typed in your username and password. 

Password not accepted. 

Assuming you must have hit a wrong key, you retyped your password, paying close attention to each key you tapped. 

Password not accepted. 

“No. I’m sure it’s right…” You double checked the username. No mistakes there. Caps lock was off. You typed the password one more time.

Password not accepted. 

You frowned and clicked back into the password box. 

“You’re locked out, idiot,” Kaiba said, interrupting your fourth attempt. 

“But… I don’t…” You were positive the password was correct.

“He must have changed it.” He growled, turning away to watch the computer screens. “We need to get you back into the real world before he uses your information to do damage.” 

“Who changed it?” How… You looked at the copy of him on the screen. “You mean that… guy?” 

“Yes. The virtual me.” He sighed. “Just sit there, and don’t touch anything. You’ve already done too much.” 

You didn’t appreciate being treated like a child. You may not know much about the virtual world or even computers, but that didn’t make you useless. You deleted your ID and replaced it with KaibaM1. Then you tried to recall Mokuba’s most recent password. He just changed it the day before yesterday… Right! You typed the new password in, and the computer loaded Mokuba’s personal settings. 

As everything loaded, you tried to remember how to reset your password. Mokuba could do it if you forgot, and he’d demonstrated how to you, but it had been so long. 

Then an email popped up on the screen and distracted you. It had your name under sender. You clicked on it and found yourself looking at gibberish. You scrolled down through the email, trying to find any sentences that would help you make sense of it. 

Then you were shoved aside and off the chair as Kaiba planted himself in front of the laptop. He swore, slamming his fist down next to the keyboard. “He worked out how to take my body,” he muttered to myself. “Of course he did. He has my intellect.” His fingers flew across the keyboard. “If I kick Mokuba off the system, that should buy some time.” 

You waited, understanding that whatever was going on was something Kaiba needed to deal with. He worked on the computer, and the screen seemed to change too quickly for you to follow what he was doing. You doubted you could understand it even if he were going slow. 

Once he seemed to be done, you decided it was time to get some answers. “Would you please explain what is going on around here, Mr. Kaiba?” 

“No.” He didn’t even look up at you. He didn’t think you were significant. 

“Mr. Kaiba, in case you haven’t figured it out, I’m here because your brother trusts me. He trusts me with your life and with his CEO access to Kaiba Corp.” Kaiba focused on you, and you grinned knowing you had his attention. “I may not know much about computers, sir, but if you need to get information to your brother, then you’d better tell me what’s going on before I go home.” 

Kaiba looked over at the monitor where his twin seemed to be yelling at the security guard and then back at the computer in front of him. “Fine. We should have enough time for the short version.” He narrowed his eyes at you. “Don’t interrupt. No questions.” 

You nodded to agree, pleased to finally get some answers. 

“He,” Kaiba gestured at the screen showing his twin, “is a virtual copy of me. He doesn’t know everything I know, we’re not identical copies, but he knows everything I know about Kaiba Corporation. Coding, games, business… all of it. He was created to provide me with a sounding board for development ideas.” Kaiba raised an eyebrow. “Too confusing for you yet?” 

You glared at him, wondering if you could get away with stabbing his body when you got back. 

He didn’t wait for a response, which was fortunate as you didn’t have a polite one. “He’s developed a mind of his own. He’s decided that he should be the one running Kaiba Corp, and that he deserves my body.” Kaiba looked away from you, studying the computer screens. “Using your email, he just sent Mokuba code to override the failsafe that ensures people return to their own bodies. If Mokuba has that code installed, he’ll be able to leave this world using my body.” 

You couldn’t help it. This mess seemed to have the easiest solution in the world. “Then why don’t you leave and go back to your own body before he can get to it?” 

“No.” 

“But--”

“NO!” Kaiba slammed his fist down and stood. “Do not presume to tell me what to do. This is not your problem to solve. Frankly, this entire situation is none of your business. I will get you back to the real world, you will convey this information to Mokuba, and that will be the end of it as far as you are concerned.” 

You took a step back, surprised at Kaiba’s temper. It took a lot to set Mokuba off like that. 

You should really stop expecting Seto Kaiba to be anything like his brother. The stress must be getting to you. You didn’t normally make novice mistakes like that. 

Then you looked past Kaiba to the screen with his twin. “Why is he getting into a pod?” 

Kaiba spun around and rushed over to the screen. He leaned forward to study it. “No!” He punched the screen, causing the color to darken as the screen bent inward. Then he rushed over to the vent the two of you had come in through. The box over it was kicked aside before he pulled the vent open. Without another word he disappeared back into the dark tunnel. 

Fear wrapped around you as you approached the screen. Your hand covered your mouth, and you hoped that you were wrong about what you assumed was going on. The pod lit up, and it felt like someone was squeezing your stomach. 

How could it be over so quickly? How could everything be lost so easily? 

You reached forward, wanting to wipe away the image of the pod closing on the fake Kaiba. Then your attention turned to your hand as it faded away. Little squares formed from your fingers, causing them to shorten before they disappeared entirely. The squares kept coming, dissolving your hand. 

The world began to fall apart, breaking into little pieces, and you wondered if you were dying. 

Then it all turned blue. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who follow me on Tumblr probably know that I watched Dark Side of Dimensions recently for the first time. (Yes, I know, I am a terrible Kaiba fangirl for not doing it sooner, but I really prefer to watch movies at home and hate crowded theaters so I held off.) 
> 
> It was terribly motivating as far as getting me working on this fic again. 
> 
> In any case, I hope you guys enjoy this update! It's lengthy-ish, and I'm really working to make this a quality thriller (to the best of my ability).

The flash of blue lights only lasted a moment before the world went dark. You were lying down, and as you tried to sit up, you realized that you were trapped inside something. Panic shot through you as you tried to move. The sound of hissing air caught your attention. Then the helmet lifted away from your face, and you breathed a sigh of relief, wincing against the sudden light.

You pushed yourself up into a sitting position and got tackled by Mokuba almost immediately. “YOU DID IT!” he shouted, wrapping his arms around you before pulling away to kiss your cheeks.

Mokuba’s excitement was contagious, and you found yourself hugging him back before you remembered that his brother hadn’t returned.

“Mokuba,” you pulled away from him. “You have to know‒”

A groan interrupted you, drawing your attention to Seto Kaiba’s body. He remained reclined in the chair with his hand raised to his face as he rubbed at his eyes. His arm seemed to move in slow motion, and you reminded yourself that this was not Kaiba.

Mokuba rushed over to him. “Seto!”

How would you tell Mokuba about what had entered his brother’s body? As Mokuba sat next to his “brother,” he began to ramble about bringing him home, calling the doctor, and updating him on the company. You tuned him out as you tried to process what was going on. A fake copy of Kaiba was inhabiting the real Kaiba’s body. You were... somehow... back in your own body. The real Kaiba was trapped in the virtual world. Mokuba didn’t know any of the facts, but he needed to know about everything. This mess wasn’t something you felt capable of dealing with on your own.

You should wait until the fake Kaiba wasn’t present. You didn’t need the… would it be considered a robot? Well, you didn’t need fake Kaiba to confuse Mokuba until you could tell him the whole story.

That would be your first goal. Get Mokuba alone.

If you took it step by step, just like any other issue that you dealt with, then you could do this. You could untangle this mess.

Mokuba had to help Kaiba sit upright, but once he was sitting up, his gaze focused on you. “Mokuba,” he rasped, his voice cracking halfway through. “I need water.”

“Of course!” Mokuba hopped up. “Sorry, I didn’t even think about that! I’ll have to go up to the main floor, but I’ll be right back.”

Yes. Perfect. “Let me go with you!” You tried to stand and that was a mistake. One of your legs collapsed like jelly and pain shot through it the moment you tried to use it. You crumpled to the floor, crying out, and Mokuba rushed over to help you back onto the pod.

“I think it’s best if you sit here for now. You’re probably still a little groggy from being out for so long.” He frowned. “I’ll be right back!” He took off running for the elevator.

Your leg felt like it had little pins stabbing it all over, and you had to reach down with your hand to help it bend at the knee. As you massaged your leg, feeling began to return to it, and you told yourself that you would be able to get Mokuba alone without a problem. You couldn’t panic over this small setback.

“What do you know?” Kaiba’s words were whispered, but you still heard him.

You stared at him for a moment, wondering how much of your hand to reveal. With the press, you often provided as few details as possible. You couldn’t think of a reason why that wouldn’t work here. “What do you mean?” You realized that you were frowning and tried to smooth the disgust off your face. You channelled ignorance and innocence. You thought, ‘I am not a threat,’ hoping it would help.

He studied you for a moment before turning his focus to the needles sticking out of his arm. He reached over and began trying to pull the bandaging off. “The virtual world could easily turn someone insane if they were in there long enough.” You watched as his fingers failed to grip the edge of the bandaging enough to pull it off. His movements made you feel like you were watching a scene in slow motion. You waited as he pulled on the bandage over and over again, barely making it budge.

He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by his statement. Was he trying to tell you that the real Kaiba had gone insane?

Your irritation grew like an itch you couldn’t scratch as you watched his fingers fumble against the bandage.

“Is that what happened to you?” you finally asked after deciding that question didn’t give anything away.

He looked back up and smirked. “It could be what happened to you, if you get too confused by how much of the virtual world is fiction and tell Mokuba Kaiba stories.” You noticed that his eyes seemed a little squinty. It ruined the effect of his expression, and almost distracted you from the fact that this poseur was threatening you.

You smiled. “You don’t want me to tell Mokuba about the way you had your guards rough me up?” You could play dumb all day long. “I don’t know that continuing to threaten me is going to work.” He wasn’t convinced by your act, but you didn’t think that would be possible. You just needed him to doubt that you knew anything important. “Look. Mokuba seems pretty aware of how much of a jerk you are, so I’m not sure he’d be surprised.”  

Kaiba seemed surprised for a moment, but then his eyes narrowed. “You don’t seem too worried about your job security right now.”

You laughed. You couldn’t help it. “Just try it.”

Mokuba came back into the room while you were laughing. He grinned, possibly thinking that you were getting along with his brother. “Seto, I called your doctor, and he should be here soon.”

Kaiba groaned. “I don’t need a doctor.”

“Don’t be silly, big bro.” Mokuba handed the cup he was holding to his brother, but as Mokuba let go, the cup began to slip through Kaiba’s fingers, water sloshing over the sides. “Woah!” Mokuba’s hand gripped the cup again. “Let me…” Mokuba’s words trailed off into silence.

The two men stayed frozen for a moment. Kaiba’s hand pulled away from the cup. “I’m not thirsty anymore.”

“Seto,” Mokuba pleaded, moving the cup closer to his brother’s face.

Kaiba’s hand lifted, waving off the cup before falling into his lap. “Just help me up, Mokuba.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Mokuba, just do it!”

Mokuba shook his head. “Seto, I think we should wait for the doctor, and you should drink some water.” Kaiba opened his mouth to argue, but Mokuba kept going. “Your body has been sitting there for a while, and I know you hate doctors, but you need my help to stand whether you admit it or not, and I won’t help you until I’m satisfied that you’re ok!”

Silence took over, and you braced yourself for Kaiba to retaliate. Instead, he leaned forward, putting his lips to the cup. His hand lifted to it, and Mokuba helped him tilt the cup up so he could drink. Some water spilled onto his chin as he pushed the cup away, and Kaiba winced. His hand reached up to rub the water from his face.

His movements were so slow. It was too painful to watch, and you looked away from the sight.

Feeling had returned to your own legs, and the little pinpricks of pain had faded. You felt confident that you would be able to stand without falling over. You put your feet down on the floor and transferred your weight to them, keeping your hands on the pod for support just in case you needed it. Your legs held your weight.

Your stomach grumbled, letting you know that it had been a while since your last meal.

Mokuba appeared by your side. His hand brushed your shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay to stand?”

“Yes. I’m fine.” You reached out and took Mokuba’s hand with your own. Now wasn’t the time to explain everything to him. He kept glancing back to his brother’s body. His attention was too divided for him to be able to listen. “Take care of your brother. I’ll stay here and catch up… how long was I out?”

“Not too long… just overnight.”

You nodded. “I’m going to get my phone out. Is my stuff still locked up?”

“Yeah. Let me get it for you.” Mokuba left you standing next to the pod after gesturing for you to sit down again. You ignored the gesture and followed him. He frowned when he turned to find you standing right there but didn’t say anything as he kneeled to unlock your stuff.

“Thanks! I’m sure I have a few texts I need to take care of!” You kneeled next to him and lowered your voice to a whisper. “Could we talk in private once you take care of your brother?”

Mokuba’s confusion was apparent as he pulled the drawer open and gave you your bag. You worried that he might push the matter, asking why you needed to talk to him in private, but Mokuba proved that you needed to have more faith in him when he nodded and walked back to his brother without another word.

You put your bag down on the table and dug your phone out. When you looked up, you made eye contact with Kaiba, and his glare made you forget what you were doing for a moment. His anger caught you off guard, and you worried that he might know that you were about to out him to Mokuba.

You tore your gaze away, looking down at your phone. He had to know you were going to tell Mokuba the truth. You needed to be realistic about that. It was the obvious thing to do, and Kaiba wasn’t a stupid man. You needed to assume that the fake Kaiba was just as smart… if not smarter.

You couldn’t leave Mokuba alone with the fake.

So you sat down in a chair and began to review your news alerts. You had alerts set for everything that could be important to your job, and the first alert that you checked every morning was the one for Mokuba Kaiba. More than once, you’d called Mokuba in the morning, serving as a wake-up call as you yelled at him over something stupid that he’d done the night before. He didn’t always make your job easy.

Relief took over when you realized that your night in the virtual world had been quiet in the real world. Mokuba must have taken your advice, something you would have to thank him for later. Granted, you were paid to put out fires, but something told you that the fake Kaiba was more like a burning forest than a trashcan fire.

The doctor finally arrived, escorted by a security guard, and Mokuba stepped away from his brother to sit with you. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you,” Mokuba said as he sat down.

“I’m sure you can think of some way. Like maybe buying me breakfast?”

“Mokuba,” Kaiba barked. “I refuse to be subjected to this nonsense. I highly doubt that my pulse has somehow gone missing while my body was asleep.”

With his back to his “brother,” Mokuba rolled his eyes. “Sorry. This might take a while. Want me to meet you in the cafeteria?” Mokuba didn’t wait for a response before rejoining his brother. “Seto, I’m sure you’re fine, but it would make me feel better to know for sure.”

Your stomach grumbled, and as Kaiba protested every single thing the doctor wanted to check, you wondered if he was being ridiculous on purpose. Nobody could possibly be so against having their reflexes checked!

If he was trying to get you to leave, he would be disappointed. There was more than one way to get food.

“Mokuba, toss me your phone?” you asked.

He threw it at you. “You know you can just have my social media passwords.”

“Not actually work related, but thanks.” As if you needed the worry of having Mokuba’s passwords saved to your phone. You scrolled through his contacts before finding his personal assistant’s name. You hit dial before lifting the phone up to your ear.

“Tsukiko speaking.”

“Hi Kiko, could you pick up lunch for us?”

“Absolutely! Mokuba told me you were out sick today. Are you feeling better?”

You smiled at Kiko’s question. Mokuba’s last assistant had openly hated you. “Yes, thank you. I’m a bit hungry though.”

“Of course. What would you like to eat?”  

“The usual from the cafe across the street is fine.” You glanced over, wondering if Kaiba would be okay to eat. He had to be hungry, too. “Um, could you get two of Mokuba’s order?”

“Two? He must not have had anything to eat today.” She laughed. “I thought he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday!”

You studied Mokuba’s outfit. Now that Kiko had said something... his clothes did seem a little wrinkled. Had he slept here?

“Hello?” Kiko regained your attention. “Did I lose you?”

“Sorry.”

“It’s ok. Did you need anything else?”

“No. Thanks.” You hung up without waiting for her to respond and then pocketed Mokuba’s phone. You watched him smile at his brother as he coerced him into letting the doctor look into his ears.

You didn’t know Mokuba could smile like that.

You knew that you had to tell him that thing wasn’t his real brother, but you couldn’t help but feel guilty, knowing you had to take away something that made him so happy. Maybe you could just whack Kaiba over the head, toss the fake back into the virtual world, and then drag the real one back into reality all without telling Mokuba?

That was wishful thinking. You didn’t even know how to operate the machines. With your luck, you would fry Kaiba’s brain somehow.

No, you had to tell Mokuba that you screwed up and brought the wrong person back to occupy his brother’s body.

Your hand slid into your pocket, fingers wrapping around Mokuba’s phone. Maybe you could just write him a text?

The doctor began packing up his stuff, and then Mokuba followed him out of the room. You knew this was your chance to talk to him away from the Kaiba imposter. You bolted for the door, but Kaiba called out your name, getting your attention. You paused, facing him.

“You and I need to talk,” he said.

You didn’t dignify his statement with a response and turned back toward the door, almost running over Kiko as she entered with an armful of food.

You both apologized, and you reached out, offering to take one of the bags from her.

“That’s okay. I’ve got it.” She stepped away from you. “Mokuba told me to just bring it in here. Where should I put it down?” She scanned the room, and the moment she caught sight of the older Kaiba her eyes widened. The bags dropped from her arms, falling to the ground. “CRAP!” She bent down to gather the boxes, checking to see if anything had spilled. “Sorry!”

You bent down with her, worried about the state of the food more than anything. The scent of food had your stomach grumbling again.

“That’s the older Kaiba?” she whispered.

You looked back to see him watching the two of you. “Yeah. That’s him.” She didn’t need to be bogged down with details. “Listen, I’ll be right back.” You knew you were being rude as you darted out into the hallway, but you needed to catch up to Mokuba.

He wasn’t in the hallway like you thought he might be, which meant he was probably walking the doctor out of the building. You dashed over to the elevators and pressed the up button. The wait for an elevator was miserable, and you told yourself that you weren’t in a hurry. It would be ok.

The doors opened to an empty elevator, and you hit the button for the lobby before slamming your hand down on the close door button. The doors shut and the elevator began its crawl up to the lobby. The mirrored ceiling revealed that you looked like a mess, and you spent a moment trying to fix your hair so you would look somewhat presentable. The clothes that you’d selected for going into the virtual world weren’t what you would normally wear to work, but that would be okay if your hair weren’t sticking out at odd angles.

The doors opened at the lobby, and people began to enter the elevator. You fought your way out of the elevator and strode over to the front desk, looking around for Mokuba. He didn’t appear to be anywhere in the lobby.

You asked if anyone at the front desk had noticed him leave, but they all shook their heads.

The phone in your pocket began to vibrate, and you pulled your own phone out before realizing that Mokuba’s phone was the one ringing. You checked. It was Kiko, and she was downstairs with Kaiba. Stepping off to the side, you answered the phone.

“Hi, um,” her voice trailed off for a moment. “Mr. Kaiba is asking me to shut down the computer down here, and I wasn’t sure if I should, it just seemed like a weird request.”

“Don’t do it!” you interrupted before taking a breath to calm down. “Mr. Kaiba is a little… out of sorts. I wouldn’t do anything he requests without clearing it with Mokuba.”

“That’s what I thought. Thanks. I left the food down here, but I’m going back up to my desk if that’s okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll come back down.” You didn’t think Kaiba could do any damage on his own right now, but you were hungry and had given up on locating Mokuba. It would be better to just wait for him to come back down to the basement.

When you made it back to the basement, you found Kaiba’s body sprawled on the floor. You rushed over and helped him into a sitting position on the floor. “What were you trying to do?”

He pushed your hands away. “That’s none of your business.”

You stepped away from him. He was scrawny, but you still weren’t sure if you would be able to help him stand anyway. It would be best to leave him on the floor. You looked around and located the food. Inspecting the bags, you discovered that the food had been jostled around and some had spilled out, but most of it was still in the boxes and definitely edible.

You grabbed your box and a plastic fork, digging into the food without even bothering to sit down. It was delicious, but your hunger may have had something to do with that.

“What do you even do around here?” Kaiba demanded.

You took your time chewing and swallowing the food in your mouth before you responded. “I’m head of PR. I make sure Kaiba Corp. and Mokuba Kaiba both look good in the press. I’ve been doing this for a little over a year.” You took another bite of food, wondering if you could just sit outside and wait for Mokuba in the hall. There weren’t any other doors to this room. At least, there were none that you could see.

“You understand that Mokuba Kaiba will step down now that I’ve returned?”

You were caught off guard by the formal way he said Mokuba’s full name. “Perhaps he will,” you conceded, thinking that it was unlikely that this thing would be able to run Kaiba Corp. without a few months worth of physical therapy.

Of course, he wouldn’t make it that far. He would get exiled back to the virtual world before the end of the day if you had anything to say about it.

You carried your food over to the door, but that didn’t dissuade the fake from continuing the conversation. “Don’t you think Mokuba is looking for any excuse to step down? He hates running the company. He never wanted it.”

You hated yourself for stopping in your tracks. This robot may not have been Mokuba’s real brother, but he was right. Mokuba never wanted to be at the helm of Kaiba Corp. He’d admitted it outright one night when he’d had too much to drink.

You looked back to find the fake Kaiba studying you. “You know I’m right,” he said. “He’ll be happier without the burden of the company.”

“I think you have a lot of catching up to do.” You left the room, ensuring the door shut behind you, and then sat down on the floor in the hall. You focused on your food, trying to push all the thoughts of Mokuba to the back of your head. Yes, he hated his role. Yes, he only kept Kaiba Corp. alive out of extreme devotion to his brother. None of that meant that leaving the fake in place would be better for Mokuba.

You were used to manipulative people. You knew you couldn’t let him question your judgement.

Then Mokuba came barrelling down the hall. “There you are! Do you still have my phone?”

“Yeah.” You stood, digging out his phone. “Mokuba, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t able to convince--”

“No, I’m sorry,” he said interrupting you. “I have to make a million calls right now, and find some way to sneak my brother out of here, and I wanted to give you the rest of the day off, but I think I need you to get news of my brother’s return to the press before it becomes a big deal.”

You grabbed his arm, stopping him from opening the door. “Mokuba, stop. I need to tell you something important.”

“I really hate feeling like I’m blowing you off like this, but I really want to get everything in order and get my brother comfortable before I do anything else.” He moved you to the side so he could open the door. “Please understand. He’s finally back, and I need to know he’ll be okay. I also need you to get ahead of the press on this so they don’t end up with the truth. I swear you’ll have my attention tonight when you come over for dinner.”

You wanted to just blurt it out, but you’d lost your nerve. You couldn’t just blurt information like that out, especially not when you knew that it would devastate Mokuba. You glanced past him and through the open doorway. “Whatever you do, don’t shut down the virtual reality computer.”

He nodded, his thoughts somewhere else. “Sure.” Then he turned and noticed his brother sitting on the floor and rushed over to him. “Seto! What happened?”

“It’s fine.” Kaiba mumbled, glaring at you.

Mokuba huffed. “I wish you would have waited for me!” He kneeled and wrapped one of his brother’s arms around his shoulders before placing his other hand around his brother’s back. Mokuba lifted his brother up to his feet, supporting him, and then helped him over to a chair. “I have security bringing you a wheelchair, Seto.”

“I don’t need a wheelchair.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Mokuba turned to find you still hovering in the doorway. “Don’t make me pull the boss card. I really need you to find a way to spin this.”

You knew when you were dismissed. You hesitated, wondering if you should just blurt it all out right here and right now. Just get it over with and let Mokuba deal with the problem.

Then you backed out of the room, thinking that this was a mistake but telling yourself that you could break it to Mokuba tonight. You owed it to him to let him down easy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR!
> 
> It's not quite the new year yet for me, but as I'm on the west coast, I know it's 2018 pretty much almost everywhere else. I hope all of you have a lovely 2018 and have enjoyed ringing in the new year (regardless of how you decided to celebrate). 
> 
> In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy this update. I'm not super pleased with it, but well, I hope it pulls off what it needs to do.

The day had been hell.

You’d decided that the best way to explain Kaiba’s disappearance was to simply tell people that he had been away on sabbatical. The detailed part of the story, the piece that you would release through carefully selected “informants,” would reveal that he had gotten extremely sick while in another country and had been unable to return.

You almost went with having him helping educate children in Africa, but given his reputation, you felt like that might be too unbelievable.

Still, letting people assume he had almost died in another country would gather some sympathy and support among the public. It would explain the wheelchair, his emaciated appearance, and the physical therapy that he would need to do.

Once you started trying to figure out how to release the information, your brain gave up. Planning to release the information in a controlled fashion would normally be an easy job for you. You loved piecing out the information and planning who to give it to and when. Today, you couldn’t do it. You were distracted and somehow tired. It had been hard to focus, and all you wanted was to go home and sleep.

You couldn’t do that either. You had to go over to the Kaiba Mansion and tell Mokuba what had really happened in the virtual world.

Your phone rang, and you stared at it for a moment, trying to understand what was going on. Your brain lagged for long enough that the phone stopped flashing.

You probably should have answered that.

Then it began to ring again. You picked it up, checking the name on the screen. “Hello?”

“We have a problem. The press has starting calling, asking about Seto Kaiba and wanting to know if he really is back in town. What do I say? I gave them the general blanket statement, but at least one of the reporters is convinced he’s back.” She lowered her voice to whisper, “There have been rumors he was here this morning.”

You shouldn’t be surprised the press were already circling. Sharks could smell blood in the water. “Tell them there will be a press release by the end of the day, and thank them for patiently waiting for it.” Then you hung up without another word. The people who worked for you could figure the rest out.

You turned back to your computer with renewed focus. The press release needed to be done. Anything else could wait until tomorrow. It would have to wait. You needed to be at the top of your game for this.

Okay. Step one would be to finish the press release. Step two would be to go to the Kaiba Mansion and tell Mokuba about fake Kaiba so he could deal with that. Step three… go home and sleep.

With that goal in mind, you began writing a press release. You kept it as generic as you thought you could get away with. Yes, Seto Kaiba is back in Domino. No, he will not be taking over as CEO of Kaiba Corp. Mokuba will continue to head Kaiba Corp. and all business will continue as usual. Please respect the family’s privacy, thank you.

You tweaked the phrasing until you were satisfied with it, wanting to ensure that people knew this would not have any impact on Kaiba Corp. If you knew Mokuba, he would want to hand the reins back to his brother as quickly as possible. You would do everything in your power to make sure that didn’t happen. Mokuba Kaiba was the best damn boss you had ever had, and you weren’t going to let anyone take his job away.

Once you were happy with every single word of the statement, you sent it to everyone who worked with the press. Then you sent it over to the Social Media Team so they could release it on every applicable site. In all caps, you reminded them to stick to the script. You asked that they collect and forward all questions along to you so you could handle it tomorrow.

Then you messaged Mokuba, letting him know that you were wrapping up things at work and would be leaving early.

You glanced over your emails, leaving everything that needed a response marked as unread but making sure there weren’t any fires that needed to be put out yesterday. You didn’t find anything so you let your PA know that you were leaving work early for the day but that you would be back tomorrow. Emergencies could go to your cellphone if she felt it was necessary.

You made it to the Kaiba Mansion with no memory of the drive over, feeling fortunate that you hadn’t crashed your car.

Everyone working at the mansion was familiar with you. So they let you in with just a wave. The butler who answered the door told you Mokuba was in his office and let you find your way there, knowing that you didn’t need a guide.

Mokuba was by himself, but he was busy on the phone when you entered the room. You made yourself comfortable on one of his chairs and busied yourself with your phone. Your news alerts already had new stories for both “Mokuba Kaiba” and “Kaiba Corp.”

The return of Seto Kaiba had hit. He was all over the headlines, and you knew this would be your project for the next few days. You were going to have to read over all the articles and get a general sense for how people felt about things so far, so you closed out of the news, intending to do it later when you could take notes.

You checked your Instagram instead, giving the baby pictures of your friends their obligatory likes as you eavesdropped on Mokuba’s conversation. From the side that you could hear, he seemed to be discussing private physical therapy sessions. More than likely he was scheduling something at the mansion for his brother.

He hung up, and you put your phone away.

“It’s been crazy around here!” He grinned, letting you know that he didn’t mind.

You ignored his statement knowing that you had to rip the bandaid off. “Your brother refused to come back.”

“Don’t be silly!” Mokuba interrupted. “He’s in the other room sleeping.”

“That’s not your brother. That’s some virtual imposter! He took over your brother’s body, and your brother stayed in the virtual world.” You scanned Mokuba’s face as you spoke, and he seemed to be shocked and upset. You hated feeling relieved that he was upset, but you couldn’t help it. You needed him to handle this situation. Virtual realities and everything related to that was above your head.

Then he rolled his eyes, and you felt a stone drop down into your stomach. “Don’t you think I would be able to tell if that weren’t my brother. You’ve never even met him!”

This was the first time Mokuba had shouted at you, and you didn’t like it. You stood up, not wanting to just sit still. “That ISN’T your brother! Your brother is still in that virtual world!” You took a deep breath. “I can’t fix this alone, Mokuba.”

“Maybe you should go home and rest,” Mokuba suggested. “You seem disoriented.”

“I AM NOT!” How dare he try to even imply that you might be spouting nonsense. “That is a fake, and if you let him have any control at Kaiba Corp, he will take it all from you. Nevermind the fact that he probably wants to kill or delete or whatever your real brother!” You knew that shouting wasn’t helping your cause, but you couldn’t help it. Mokuba never doubted what you said.

Mokuba finally stood. “I think it’s time for you to go home and rest.”

“No.” This couldn’t be happening. You had been through far too much shit with Mokuba for him to just dismiss you. “You need to listen to what happened in the virtual world.”

The two of you stared at each other. Mokuba’s mouth pulled into a frown, and he seemed upset. He’d never looked at you this way.

“If he weren’t my brother,” Mokuba said, “then I would know.” You tried to protest, but Mokuba insisted, “I would know.”

“Fine.” You held your hands up in surrender. “Let your real brother get killed. It doesn’t matter to me.” You stormed out of the Kaiba Mansion, your anger propelling you into your car without letting you pause to reconsider.

You drove home, cursing Mokuba the entire way. His desire to have his brother back would ruin everything. You knew that he could be stubborn about getting his way, but you never expected that trait to be turned on you.

Once you made it home, you considered making yourself something to eat or at least having some tea, but once you undressed, you flopped onto your bed and passed out.

It didn’t hit you, until you woke up the next day, that you might have burned a bridge with Mokuba.

You reminded yourself that he was in the wrong. If he didn’t trust you enough to believe you, then your relationship with him hadn’t been that good in the first place. Just thinking about it boiled your blood. You never gave Mokuba a single reason to doubt you! He came to you with problems, and without asking questions, you solved his problems! You made him look good in the press (not an easy thing to do sometimes)!

Well, if this was the way he repaid you, then you might consider jumping ship for another company. Even if Kaiba Corp. didn’t crash and burn with a robot at the helm, you had a feeling that Robot Kaiba’s first order of business would be to dispose of loose ends, A.K.A. you. You would have to get out before that happened.

You debated calling out sick, but no, you had too much work to do. You needed to undermine the fake Kaiba if you could.

On your way to work, you stopped to pick up breakfast. You were starving and decided that it didn’t matter if you showed up a little late today. You deserved to relax after everything. You had a notebook, and as you ate, you read the news about Kaiba Corp. and Mokuba. Speculation on where Seto Kaiba had been ran rampant. Some “sources” claimed that he had been kidnapped and finally was returned. There was a rumor that he ran off with a man. Originally, there had been a rumor that Mokuba had killed off his brother to take over the company. That rumor had returned as well with people trying to defend it. The theories were that either Kaiba had managed to free himself or that Kaiba wasn’t back at all.

You couldn’t find the truth anywhere on the internet. That was good. There might be a leak at some point, but if you could get the company’s “truth” out there properly, it wouldn’t matter.

Over breakfast, you began to craft the tale. You implied that Seto Kaiba had run off because he was unable to take running the company by saying that Kaiba had wanted to lead a quiet and introspective life. You continued on with the story that Kaiba had fallen ill while abroad and unable to safely travel home. Trying to make fiction mirror fact, you shared that his illness had led to a coma. The best doctors had been flown in to attend him, but for privacy, you wouldn’t reveal who they were. Hopefully that spin would stop any doctors from admitting that they hadn’t been asked to attend to Seto Kaiba. Nobody wanted to admit that they weren’t considered the best.

You couldn’t figure out how to imply that Seto Kaiba might be suffering from brain damage. If you really wanted to handicap the imposter, you needed to find a way to stop people from trusting him. At the same time, if it were true that Kaiba had suffered from some sort of permanent damage… that was the type of thing you would work to cover up. How could you make it seem like you were covering it up? That was the question for the day.

You issued a quick meeting request to the key people in your department. Then you paid for your breakfast and packed up your things. An idea began to shape itself, and you considered it as you made your way to work.

For this job, you needed to stick with your sure thing “news” outlets. You might also need to leak some of the information “accidentally” yourself. You hated doing that. It brought down your reputation, but sometimes it was the best way to get an unbelievable lie out there. After all, you could be sure only the biggest weirdos would believe the real story if it leaked, but was the fake one really that easy to swallow?

You walked straight to the meeting room once you made it to work. Most of the people you’d invited were present and waiting. You put your stuff down at an open seat and smiled. “Is anyone else coming?”

“Of course everyone is coming.” Tami leaned forward on the table. “But today has been a nightmare. We’re getting calls and messages and Seto Kaiba is trending on Twitter. I don’t think we’ve ever been this busy. I think I speak for everyone when I ask, ‘What is going on?’”

Nobody nodded, but they all focused their attention on you, and that told you everything that you needed to know. “Well, Seto Kaiba has returned to us, so to speak. So yes, all of that is true.” That was all they were looking for. The attention wavered as many of them began talking to each other. You listened as the volume in the room rose, each person speaking louder, trying to speak over the conversation happening next to them. You waited, listening for the moment that the conversation began to slow down. They would realize that there was more to this.

The remaining members of your team trickled in as everyone talked about the return of Seto Kaiba. The news was shared with the newcomers, but as the news was shared, your co-workers realized they didn’t have the details.

“I believe we can start the meeting now?” you suggested once the conversation began to die down. You paused just long enough to let everyone turn to you but not long enough to let anyone respond. “Now, Seto Kaiba is back in Domino, but he’s not part of Kaiba Corporation anymore. I assume all of you are familiar with the press release from yesterday.” A few heads nodded. “Mokuba should be crafting an email to go out to the rest of the company, letting them know that this will not, in any way, change anything going on at Kaiba Corp. We need to let the public and shareholders know that this changes nothing. Mokuba Kaiba will continue on as CEO, and Seto Kaiba will be staying out of the public eye for the time being.” You saw a hand go up. “Yes?”

“But where was he?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know, but I can tell you he doesn’t look great. He’s in no physical or mental position to take back any control of the company. That stays in this room, of course.”

They nodded. Of course that information wouldn’t be told to any other co-workers. No, all of them would resist the urge to spread the news.

“I’ll email all of you your individual assignments. I know this will be a challenge, but we’d like to keep the details of Kaiba’s last few years out of the news. Any other questions?”

Many of them looked like they had questions, but nobody asked anything. You wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them tried to get answers out of you in private.

“Let me know if anything else comes up.” You gathered your things and left the room, letting everyone else filter out on their own.

You greeted your PA as you unlocked your office door. “Good morning, Harumi. Do you have anything for me?”

“Yes, good morning! Mokuba wanted me to let him know when you came in for the day.” She picked up her phone. “Did you want me to pass any message along?”

You paused. Could you tell her to pass along what you really wanted to say to Mokuba? “No, that’s ok.”

You ducked into your office without waiting for your PA to call Mokuba. You assumed he hadn’t intended for her to pass along the message that he was monitoring you. He would be down in a moment, either to apologize for last night or to see if you were more “reasonable” today.

Your hand shook as you started your computer. You convinced yourself that it was rage, but you couldn’t be sure. As your brain turned over the events in the virtual world, you couldn’t stop the anxiety and fear that threatened to overcome you. What if the robot thought you were a threat?

Mokuba finally joined you, knocking on your door and opening it without waiting for you to invite him in. “How are you feeling today?”

You glared at him. “How do you think, Mokuba?”

He grinned. “I suppose I deserve that. I’m sorry about last night.” He took a seat in your chair, and you felt hope rise up. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I guess I was just tired and emotional after getting Seto back, and I couldn’t stop myself.” He leaned forward. “Forgive me?”

You wanted to forgive him, but you needed to be clear. “Does this mean you believe me?”

His smile disappeared. He looked around, uncomfortable, and you knew that you wouldn’t like the next words out of his mouth. You braced yourself for the worst. “The virtual world… it’s confusing. I believe that you feel like what you’re saying is the truth.”

You looked down at your desk. “That’s a terrible response. You haven’t learned anything from me, Mokuba.”

He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess not. That’s why I need you to write all my emails for me.”

“No way. I still don’t have time for that on top of everything else.”

“I’ll never stop asking.” He reached across the desk for your hand. “But seriously, I need you to trust me when I say I know my brother. I’ll be able to tell if anything is wrong.”

You let Mokuba hold your hand. He believed that. He was wrong. Or even if he wasn’t, you didn’t think he would realize there was a problem until it was too late. The two of you were doomed.

You made eye contact with Mokuba. “Just don’t let your brother have Kaiba Corp. back. Not yet.”

“Sure, sure.” He grinned. “So we’re okay?”

You smiled back. “Of course we are.” He meant well, but Mokuba Kaiba was blowing you off.

Mokuba stayed in your office and chattered about his brother. You smiled and maintained the conversation, but your brain was elsewhere. It was good to know that Seto Kaiba’s body would be stuck in physical therapy for a while, but that just delayed the inevitable. It gave you time to figure out how to save the real Seto Kaiba or how to save yourself.

If Seto Kaiba was even still there to save.

“Mokuba,” you interrupted, “is your brother’s virtual world still up and running?”

Mokuba made a face, probably annoyed that you interrupted his story. “I mean, I guess it would be. Any virtual world is stored on our server and ready to access at any time.”

If Mokuba wouldn’t help you, then you would need to find another way to understand what to do. You made a show of looking at your computer. “Mokuba, I would love to chat with you later, but I have to go to a meeting right now… sorry.” You tried to look like you really meant it as you hurried out of your office, leaving a confused Mokuba behind.

You found your way to the programming department, and on the way, you began to form a plan. Perhaps Mokuba wasn’t your only hope.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I freely admit the last update sucked. (But, I mean, this is my first attempt at a thriller so I was bound to run into some rough patches?) I hope you guys are still with me despite that because I feel much more confident about this chapter. I was able to keep on rolling into this chapter and I really feel like I've gotten back into my groove with this fic. I hope that translates into enjoyment for you! Please let me know what you think! :)
> 
> (Also, I shared this on Tumblr, but just in case anyone is curious, this fic does have a playlist! <https://open.spotify.com/user/1215023390/playlist/3j62vm9FOA9U8pdwEDxnPU>)

People began clearing out of Kaiba Corp. at five. Not everyone left immediately, but by six in the afternoon, most of the building was gone for the day. That made it a good time to wander into locations that might raise a few eyebrows. Locations like the basement level.

You were prepared with an answer for security once the elevator opened, but the hallway was empty. That made sense. As far as Mokuba was concerned, there wasn’t anything down here that was worth protecting anymore.

You felt each beat of your heart as it began to speed up, and you hugged your bag close as you walked down the hallway. Each step seemed to echo against the tiled floor. You almost expected someone to try to stop you, but you reached the door without another person appearing. You put your hand on the knob, expecting the door to be locked. Then it yielded when you pushed the handle, and the door opened to an empty room. You began to breathe, suddenly aware that you had been holding your breath.

You slammed the door shut once you were in the room and then locked it. Maybe you were paranoid, but you didn’t want any interruptions either way.

You put your bag down on the desk next to the main computer. You pulled out the goggles that the programming department had let you borrow and placed them down next to the computer. Then you unraveled the cable attached to them. You left the instructions in your bag, sure you could find the right place to plug in the headset on your own. It took a few tries, and you had to turn the computer to look at the sides and back before you could locate the right spot for the cable to fit.

Once you pushed the plug all the way in, the headset lit up. That was a good sign. You tapped a key on the computer, and the screen turned on to show an unlock screen. You typed in Mokuba’s password, and the computer rejected you. _Shit_. Then you saw the username. KaibaS1. It wasn’t Mokuba’s log in at all.

The password would need to be changed. You pulled out your laptop, hoping that Mokuba would have the necessary credentials. You logged into his account and tried to change his brother’s password. The system rejected you.

You stared at the screen for a moment, rereading the red words telling you that you weren’t authorized to do that. How could you get in? How had Mokuba gotten in?

Then you remembered that Mokuba kept his passwords saved to his computer just in case he forgot any. It was a terrible idea, but that never stopped him from doing anything. Once you found the folder, you opened it, and a quick search revealed the password for his brother’s log in. You typed that password into the VR computer and held your breath as you hit the enter key.

The computer accepted the password and let you in. That was one hurdle out of the way.

Then you got out the instructions that came with the VR helmet. You’d let the programming team know that you didn’t know anything about the virtual reality, and while the head of the department had been too busy to give you a crash course, one of his programmers took pity on you and gave you a beginner’s overview.

He’d explained that the virtual pods were impossible to use without another person to bring you back but the home version of the virtual reality would be easy to use on your own. Convincing him to give you one of the home prototypes had been difficult, but you’d promised that it wasn’t going to be used. You swore it was just for marketing purposes.

And that was how you found yourself installing the virtual goggles on the computer using the instruction manual.

When the computer told you that the installation was complete, you hesitated for a moment, unsure if you should use the goggles on your own. Then you put them on your head and pressed the button on the side.

The glasses lit up for a moment, and then you found yourself looking at the city of Domino. You could feel the chair that you were sitting on, but as you looked around, you only saw the empty street. You reached forward with your hand, but you didn’t see it. With the helmet, the virtual world wasn’t attuned to your thoughts, your brainwaves, the way it was when you used the pods to go into the world.

You leaned forward, both hands reaching out for the table. They landed on it, and then you pat the table with your hands until you found the keyboard. You probably should have set the keyboard up before putting the helmet on. You let your hand brush over the keyboard. The arrow keys were set aside enough that you could find them without seeing, and you tapped the up arrow, watching yourself move forward through the city.

Your progress moving to Kaiba Corp. seemed slower this time, and you held the up arrow down, wanting the character to just get to the building as quickly as possible. You wondered if it would be possible to just start from inside the building next time.

If only you actually knew something about programming or gaming.

Being in the virtual world made you nervous. Sure your mind stayed in your body while you were using the helmet, but you still worried that someone would figure out what you were doing and come stop you. Or even worse, what if Kaiba wasn’t here anymore? Should you even bother fighting the fake Kaiba if the real one didn’t exist? You might as well let Mokuba have his delusions if there was no alternative.

You held the up arrow down, thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Not being able to get into the Kaiba Corp. building was the last thing on your mind.

Until you made it to the building.

At first, you couldn’t figure out how to open the door. You moved forward, waiting for some sort of message or command to trigger. The door took over your entire view as you ran into it but nothing happened. You released the arrow key and looked up and down, trying to figure out how to let the computer know that you wanted to open the door. You stared at the doorknob and mashed the Enter key. You stared at the door and thought the word ‘open’ as hard as you could. Nothing. You turned your head, trying to look around, and the world spun, making you very aware of the heavy helmet sitting on your head.

You cursed the programming department. Assholes didn’t give you enough information.

Granted, you weren’t honest with them about why you wanted information on the virtual reality… but still. Shouldn’t this be easier to use? If they were better programmers, you wouldn’t need a step-by-step walkthrough for this.

You mashed the Enter key again. This sucked. First Mokuba had to slip into denial and make himself useless, and now you couldn’t even get a fake door to open. You placed your hands on the sides of the helmet, ready to give up, when the door swung open. Your hands fell to your side as you tried to lean forward to look into the doorway. Leaning forward in the real world did nothing but cause you to almost tumble out of the chair. You straightened and reached forward, hands grasping at air until they found the keyboard again.

Then Kaiba appeared in your vision. “Have you come to gloat?” The sound of his voice flooded the helmet, and you cringed, wondering how you could turn the volume down.

“No, I…” You stopped, unsure what you should say, unsure if the microphone was even working. “Can you hear me?”

“Of course I can, you idiot. What do you want?”

“I’m here to help you. I want to help you get your body back.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes as he turned away from you.

“Wait!” You reached out, trying to stop him, and when nothing happened, you were reminded that moving your body in the real world didn’t translate. “Ugh,” you groaned as you reached for the keyboard and began to tap the up arrow. “Don’t be difficult, Kaiba. Aren’t you worried that this place might get deleted and you along with it?”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Right. Your body is walking around in the outside world with Mokuba treating the fake like he’s real, but you don’t need any help from anyone in the real world to deal with it.”

Kaiba turned to face you. “Your help is worse than none at all. It’s your fault that one of my copies was able to take over my body.”

“I’m not the one who made copies of himself like an egomaniac,” you muttered.

“You don’t understand anything,” Kaiba snarled before turning to storm away.

You held the arrow key down, trying to catch up to him. “Don’t be such a baby!”

He entered the elevator and closed the doors before you could catch up to him. You clenched your fist, wanting to pound it against the doors. Being unable to take action didn’t suit you.

You stared at the elevator button, trying to figure out how to press it. Nothing showed up to tell you what to do. You hit the Enter key a few times, but that didn’t appear to do anything.

Kaiba was obviously a stubborn man. His type never accepted help. His type assumed they were better than everyone else. Well, he needed someone’s help, and he was stuck with you so he would just have to suck it up.

You refocused on the elevator. Mokuba really should have sent someone who actually knew what they were doing after his brother. Your inability to figure out how to operate anything frustrated you. With a huff, you gave up for the night and pulled the helmet off your head.

The buzzing sound that the helmet made was obvious without it on your head, and you set it aside, deciding not to turn it off just yet. You leaned forward, placing your elbows on the desk and your chin in your hand. Should you get someone from the programming department involved in this? The pro would be having someone involved who actually knew what they were doing. The con would be knowing that they could sell the story to a tabloid at a pretty big profit.

Every cell in your body told you to protect the company’s image at any cost.

But did that mean that Kaiba’s brother was an acceptable sacrifice?

You needed to take a step back. Kaiba Corporation’s public image was your job, and keeping them looking good had to be your number one priority. Everything that was going on with Seto Kaiba needed to stay covered up. Nobody who didn’t already know could be informed. He had been in a coma and that was true enough that the world wouldn’t look for other explanations. Not unless someone gave them the truth.

No, you couldn’t involve anyone in this.

Seto Kaiba needed you. He wouldn’t admit it. From what you could tell, his pride would stop him from accepting help. It was a common issue with men who were too intelligent for their own good. But you needed his help, too, and you weren’t too prideful to admit it.

Mokuba needed his help. You should have focused on that sooner. Mokuba adored his brother, and from the few stories he’d told you, his brother seemed to love him back.  

You pulled your notebook out of your bag as your brain went into overdrive. You started a list. Bullet points of ideas to manipulate Kaiba into working with you. Or at the very least he needed a kick in the ass to motivate him into getting out of his stupid computer world.

You ran out of ideas and reviewed your list. Well, it was a start.You took a deep breath and put the helmet back on.

“Mr. Kaiba,” you called out, hoping that he was keeping tabs on you to ensure you weren’t up to anything, “I don’t know if you can hear me, but Mokuba needs you. I can’t imagine what your imposter has planned for him, but Mokuba is going to get blindsided by it.”

The elevator doors stayed shut. You looked around at the Kaiba Corp. lobby. It was completely empty without even someone to pretend to man the desk. Had there been someone here last time? It was hard to recall.

“If you don’t need my help, at least help me. I just want to make sure that Mokuba makes it out of this ok. I don’t really care if you never get your body back!” you shouted the words out to the empty room and the building seemed to swallow them without an echo. If this were the real lobby, there would be cameras everywhere.

That didn’t mean that Kaiba would listen to you.

Buzz. You sat up straight, looking around to figure out where the buzzing noise was coming from. Could it be the elevator? Was Kaiba coming down to talk to you? The buzzing noise continued on, and you stared at the elevator doors expecting them to open.

Then there were two short buzzes and the noise stopped.

The doors didn’t open.

You felt your chest deflate as you realized that the buzzing had probably been your phone ringing in the real world. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but Mokuba is my best friend, and I’m sure he doesn’t just give your passphrase out to anyone.” If only Mokuba could put that trust into practice with you.

You took the helmet off, setting it aside. Talking to nobody was somehow difficult. You pulled your phone out of its compartment, and sure enough, there was a missed call. The call was from Mokuba, and it had followed up a text from fifteen minutes prior asking where you were. He could stand to learn a little patience.

Well, you weren’t exactly willing to tell him where you were, and you didn’t want him to have security do a camera scan for you. Packing up your stuff just in case, you selected Mokuba’s name and tapped Call.

“Are you still mad at me? I said I was sorry!”

“Sometimes I have better things to do than sit by my phone, waiting for you to call.” The words flew out of your mouth, sharp as knives, and you felt terrible immediately. “Ugh, sorry Mokuba, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m in the middle of a… stressful situation. What did you need?”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were still working. I went down to your office, and you weren’t there so I assumed you were gone for the day.”

You wondered if he was playing stupid to catch you out or if he really hadn’t checked to see if your ID had swiped out for the day.

“Nope, still in the building unfortunately, just not in my office.”

“Now that sounds more like you! When I saw an empty office this early in the day, I figured a bodyswapper must have grabbed you.” Mokuba chuckled.

You rolled your eyes. Under the circumstances, that joke was more irritating than anything else. “You really should think about having children Mokuba. You already have the dad jokes bit down.”

“You are still upset with me!”

“Mokuba, you know I hate it when you don’t just get to the point. I still don’t know why you were looking for me.” You stood up, pulling your bag up with you. It knocked against the screen for the virtual reality computer, and then the screen went black, catching your attention. You tapped a key on the keyboard to wake it back up.

It stayed black.

You mashed the keys, pounding down on the keyboard. Nothing.

“Shit,” you said, interrupting whatever Mokuba happened to be saying. Something about dinner?

“Are you okay?”

You stared at the blank screen. How to tell Mokuba that you may have broke his brother? “I can’t get this computer to go back on.”

Mokuba groaned. “I swear. I don’t know how you’re a fully functioning adult sometimes. Are you sure it’s plugged in this time?”

“THAT HAPPENED ONE TIME! And it was my first time ever using a desktop.” You took a deep breath. “This computer was working and then it just turned off!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll be your tech support in shining armor. Where are you?”

You hesitated, not wanting to admit what you were up to. You looked down at the helmet. Well, if the computer was dead, Mokuba would need to know. He wouldn’t be too mad at you for sneaking around. He couldn’t be anyway. It wasn’t like you were trying to do something questionable down here.

“I’m in the basement,” you mumbled.

“The basement of Kaiba Corp?” You could hear Mokuba’s frown through the phone. “What did you need down there?”

“I’m in your brother’s room.” You didn’t know what else to call it. It probably had a number assigned to it, but Mokuba would know what you meant.

“Oh.” He sighed. “I’ll be down in a moment.”

He hung up, and you sat back down. You tapped a key on the keyboard, hoping it would do something, but the screen stayed black. You felt like Kaiba Corp. computers had to be more durable than this. Your bag barely brushed against it!

How could you ever make it up to Mokuba if this weren’t fixable?

The virtual reality helmet continued to hum. You lifted it up, realizing that it was still lit up inside. Holding your breath, you placed it over your head again, and then breathed a huge sigh of relief as you realized that, somehow, the world was still displaying inside the helmet. You placed the helmet aside and moved away from it. That had to be a good sign, but you would wait and let Mokuba fix whatever had happened.

This was a good thing, you decided. Mokuba could go into the virtual world and talk to his brother. What better way to prove that his brother was still in there than by having him talk to his brother directly? You cursed yourself for not thinking of this sooner.

The door handle jiggled and then there was knocking on the door. You jumped up and dashed across the room. “Sorry!” you called out. You unlocked the door and opened it to find Mokuba on the other side. “I forgot I locked it.”

“What on earth are you doing down here?” He walked past you, holding up his palm. “No, I don’t need to know. I wish you would trust me when I say there’s nothing to worry about.” He walked straight for the computer. He studied it for a moment and kneeled down to look underneath the desk. You hovered behind him, wondering what he was looking for.

Then he stood and pressed a button on the screen. The screen flickered back to life, and Mokuba looked back at you with a smug grin. “The screen was off.” His teasing voice let you know that he would never let you live this event down.

You were too relieved to care. “So everything is ok?”

Mokuba shrugged. “I mean there’s nothing in there to worry about, but yeah, you didn’t break anything. Can we go to dinner now? I’m starving.”

“Dinner?” What on earth was he talking about?

“Yeah.” Mokuba grinned. “That’s why I was trying to get ahold of you. I think we should have dinner and talk about a transition plan for my brother.”

“No, nope, no.” You grabbed the helmet and held it out for Mokuba. “Put this on. Talk to your real brother.”

Mokuba took the helmet. “Look. The virtual world is confusing. I get it. And I’m not surprised to hear that Seto made clones of himself. He’s been doing that since he was a teen. But none of them could have entered his body.” Mokuba set aside the helmet, and when you tried to protest, he grabbed your face, shutting you up. “Trust me when I say that Seto put in an obscene amount of coding in place to ensure that nothing could take over a body. He was paranoid about things like that.”

You frowned, looking Mokuba straight in the eye. “You’re asking me to trust you, but you don’t trust me. Trust me when I say I know what I’m talking about even if I don’t know how it happened.”

Mokuba made a face. “Okay. Let me show you just how impossible I think it is that anything or anyone other than my brother could have entered his body.” He removed his hands from your face, taking a step back. “I’m only doing this because I need you to refocus on your job. I don’t want you distracted by this.” He gestured at the helmet and the computer.  

Mokuba kneeled down, reaching behind the desk. Then every single light on the computer went out as Mokuba pulled a plug out of the floor.


End file.
